Articles

Three major new trends marked the 1990s. The first was the steady displacement of non-sectarian political parties by those based on religion, caste and region. The second was growing maladministration and criminalisation of politics. The third was a shift in […]

Last week I showed that data from the National Sample Survey (NSS), suggesting no progress in poverty alleviation in the 1990s, were not credible since other indicators suggested a continuing fall in poverty. The old Left has seized on the

WILL THE Clinton visit to India be followed by a relaxation of economic sanctions against India? A straw in the wind is the clearance by the governing board of the World Bank on Tuesday of three loans totalling $511 to

Has economic liberalisation failed to reduce poverty? Data from the National Sample Survey (NSS) of households suggest that the proportion of people below the poverty line has remained more or less unchanged around 36 per cent in the 1990s. So

The IMF and World Bank have long quarrelled about what policies would have helped most when the Asian financial crisis struck in 1997. On the eve of the spring meeting of the two organisations, the quarrel has been resuscitated by

Suddenly, last week, Indian tech stocks mimicked Nasdaq\’s mood swings and crashed to a near-meltdown, setting investors on the run, before settling back on their perch. What caused this economic bungee-jump? Was it a sign of bubble-bursting that the nebulous

The FM said recently that the consensus on economic reform is breaking down, that politicians of all parties are no longer keen on continuing down the path of liberalisation. I have to disagree. There never was any consensus on liberalisation.

As a failed prophet, I may not have much credibility when I make stock market predictions. In late 1998 I expressed the view that the US stock market was grossly over-valued, and that a crash in that market could send

We live in the WTO era of rule-based trade aimed at increasing competition and removing distortions. Yet there is an absolutely huge exception to this rule called OPEC (Organisation of Oil Exporting Countries). This cartel brazenly aims to manipulate production

Rarely in history have so many written so much about so little. The visit of President Bill Clinton to South Asia is a minor event which will soon be forgotten. So why are the media carpet-bombing the public with reports